Hello,

I am currently running Finale 2012, VDL 2.5 and Kontakt player 2.  I am running it on an HP laptop, 2.10 GHz, and 3GB Ram. I am running VDL in stand-alone mode with Finale through the program ";LoopBe"; to connect it all together and it all works great for me.  Some of you may think i'm weird/crazy for running it in stand-alone mode but i have tried and tried to set it up as a plug-in and it just won't work. I have a friend who has been into MIDI for over 12 years and who also uses finale and VDL, so he showed me this simple setup. So, I have some really choppy playback in my winter percussion score and it's really bumming me out that i can't listen to it without it randomly skipping once every 2-3 seconds.

My first question is: I was told to upgrade to Kontakt 5.  So i downloaded it and everytime i use it, after about 5 minutes a message pops up (in the picture below) and Kontakt 5 freezes and then crashes. What do i do about that?

My next question is: I was also told to help choppy playback would be to use an audio interface with my laptop.  Would my USB Behringer U-Control UCA200 audio interface that came with my behringer mixer work?  If so, how to i hook it up to use it for better playback cause all it is is a USB plug, two red and white ";input"; rca plugs and two red and white ";output"; rca plugs.  You can look it up for a picture of the device.

I've had my new finale and VDL programs for a few months now and i am STILL trying to get them working correctly :( I just want a smooth running system.

Thanks for any help!
-Thomas

Thomas,

Which version of Windows are you running on this computer? Given the specs listed you should not have problems running VDL as a Finale plug-in. Why type of processor is installed? While the speed does not appear to be an issue, the specific type may be hampering things. The choppy playback could be caused by the processor choking on information or the settings for your audio.

The Behringer should work fine as an audio interface. Connect it to your laptop with a USB cable. The RCA plugs are for audio in/out, as you describe. Audio out to your speakers, if you have any. Make sure they have RCA inputs. Audio in would be used if you are recording live to the laptop via Behringer.

The Kontakt erro message is harder to figure out without seeing the actual crash log. Did you send it off to NI has suggested? I'd also check their forums and support.

If you're committed to running Kontakt in standalone mode and linking Finale to it via the LoopBe virtual midi cable, it should still work - but your mileage may vary depending on other specs of your system. It may very well have to do with whether or not you're using an audio interface that can handle what you're trying to throw at it.

A stock HP laptop isn't likely outfitted with a very robust audio interface, which may be the issue. I don't know anything about the Behringer mixer you mentioned. You'd want to be sure you have up-to-date drivers (preferably ASIO) for it that are compatible with your version of Windows, but it'd be worth a try. If that doesn't work, something entry-level from M-Audio might put you closer the ballpark to being able to work effectively with non-consumer audio programs.

Here's a post on the NI forum related to the same error you're receiving. This also sounds audio interface/driver-related.
http://www.native-instruments.com/forum/showthread.php?t=165302

Jim,

thanks for the info! what do you mean when you say ";your milage may vary";? and I'll keep playing around with Kontakt 5 and see if i can fix it. 

Ted,

when i plug my USB audio interface in and start the playback on Finale, the sound still comes out of my laptop speakers. Like nothing is running through the USB audio interface. Is there a setting i need to change so that my laptop knows to use the USB audio interface?

Thanks!:)

All I meant by ";your mileage may vary,"; is that if you're using hardware and drivers that aren't up to the task, your results may be limited.

Just plugging an interface in won't do anything. You'll have to select it as your output device from Finale (or if running Kontakt in standalone mode, you'd select it within Kontakt's audio output preferences). This would, of course, require the driver for the hardware device to be functioning properly. If you don't see the device listed, you probably haven't installed the driver yet.

Yeah I'm not seeing it in the audio output preferences. How do I ";install the driver?";

[quote author=drummerboy93 link=topic=4571.msg23676#msg23676 date=1362125956]
Yeah I'm not seeing it in the audio output preferences. How do I ";install the driver?";
[/quote]

Your audio interface should have either come with a disk for installing driver software, or you can download it directly from the manufacturer's website. If you get stuck, check the documentation from the manufacturer or contact them for support.